Trouble in Paradise 3
by Darkfire Galaxy
Summary: Sequel to Trouble in Paradise 2. The final chapter of the trilogy. Maddy getting pregnant is an overused plotline, but people were wondering at the end of the second fanfiction whether Maddy and Rhydian were going to have a boy or a girl, so the answer is inside.


Wolfblood

Trouble in Paradise 3

 **Okay, so I have a confession to make: I forgot to include the accounts of the weddings as I promised in the last one. If this does better than the second one, I'll do a mini follow up and have the weddings recounted then. This one was actually pretty awkward to write, and even now I find myself wondering how I was going to deal with the way I ended the second one. If you haven't read the previous two, I recommend you go back and do that first. As always, remember to review. I hope you all enjoy.**

It was in the early morning that the peace and tranquillity of the quiet Northumbrian sunrise was shattered by the unearthly bellow of a wild animal.

"Rhydian, get over here!" Maddy screamed, holding her now very elevated stomach. "Where the hell is the bacon in this fry-up?"

"Is that it?" Rhydian grumbled. "I thought you were going into labour for a second."

"Children don't come this early, Rhydian." Maddy said. "Now, where's the bacon?"

"It must have got buried under the beans." Rhydian said. "Just get finished soon because the prenatal classed start in two hours and we're nowhere near ready."

"Never rush a pregnant woman." Maddy scolded as she tucked in hungrily. "When I wolf food down, I do it at my own pace. Besides, it's your fault that I'm like this in the first place."

"I seem to remember you being a more than willing participant in this, Mrs Morris." Rhydian muttered. "I know wolves are always made to look like the bad guys, but I'm part human too and I have feelings."

"Why are wolves always made the bad guys in fairy tales anyway?" Maddy asked. "Could those three pigs help it if they fit so nicely between two chunks of bread…? With a light drizzling of ketchup…"

"Maddy, you're going vacant again." Rhydian said, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Sorry about that." Maddy muttered, as she finished her breakfast and Rhydian helped her out of bed. So far, Maddy loved the perks of pregnancy. While she hated the downsides like the sickness and the cramps, the perks more than made up for it. She didn't have to work at this stage, Rhydian had been granted time off to wait on her hand and foot, They'd moved back in with her parents for the final couple of months, Shannon, Ceri, Jana and even the three Ks had visited non-stop to check on her and best of all, she had an excuse to spend most of the day sitting down. That said, she missed running with Rhydian. She could tell that he deliberately wasn't going running just so he could stay with her, but she knew it was taking a toll on him. Jana had offered to take him running, but something about it hadn't been the same, so he'd politely turned her down. Rhydian helped Maddy down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Emma packing a bag for them.

"I've put extra food rations in there along with an old blank notebook in case you need to take notes." Emma said, just as Dan answered the door. Ceri and Jana walked in. After the Smiths had returned from Canada, they'd got a cheap apartment until Jana was old enough to move into a separate apartment of her own. It wasn't much, but it was cheap rent and warm food.

"Hi Maddy, what's going on?" Jana asked; confused by the bag on the table.

"We're just going to our prenatal classes." Maddy told her.

"What language is that?" Ceri asked. "Whatever it is, I'm afraid I'll be no help. I only know English and Ancient Celtic."

"No, Ceri, it's…"

"No, Maddy, don't bother; just go." Jana mouthed over the top of Ceri's head. Maddy nodded and Jana and Ceri stood aside to make way for them as they went through the door.

Line Break!

Emma crept cautiously down the stairs, her ears killing her as the distinctive sound of screaming shredded the quiet of the night. Just as she hit the bottom step, she somehow tripped over her own slipper and stumbled noisily into the umbrella stand, alerting Maddy to her presence.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Mum. Did the baby wake you?" she asked as she hurried over to help her mum up, the baby tucked in the crook of her left arm.

"What do you mean 'the baby'?" Emma asked. "Have I been in a coma? You were only seven and a half months pregnant this morning? What the hell did they do at those classes, use a plunger or something?" Emma was actually having a mini freak-out now. She was pretty sure she'd remember her own daughter giving birth, but as she scanned her brain she just found a void where the memory should be.

"The prenatal classes gave us one of those cyber-babies to practise on." Maddy said. "The executives at 'Next Generation Synthetics' donated fifty of them. It's almost scary how close they've managed to get to the real thing. The only difference is that it doesn't actually feed or crap in its nappies. You just have to set a schedule for changing it. The only thing is, I just can't stop is from crying. I think it's glitched or something."

"Let's have a look, pet." Emma took the baby in her arms and bounced it for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, there was a click and the crying stopped.

"How the hell did you do that?" Maddy asked.

"It's a trick only grandparents know." Emma said. She looked over and saw the cheap plastic Moses basket on the table. It was a stark contrast to the hyper advanced cyber-baby she was holding. "I'll put it in the basket, you go upstairs to bed."

"But then I won't learn anything." Maddy was confused now.

"You'll learn that grandparents may be nearing pensionerhood, but we still have our uses." Emma gave her daughter a long hug and watched until she'd disappeared up the stairs. "So, you're going to teach Maddy and Rhydian how to be parents?" she asked the robot, carrying it over to the basket. "Will you teach them the importance of being a husband or wife as well as a mother or father in accordance with their gender? Will you teach them how to juggle both together, and not treat either one as more important? Somehow, I don't think so. But I'll tell you one thing that I don't know. I don't know how the hell I'm going to get these batteries back into you." Emma stifled a yawn and tucked the batteries into the pocket of her nightie. She was too tired to worry about it now. She'd steal the baby in the morning and work it out then.

Line Break!

A couple of weeks passed with Emma occasionally helping out with the cyber-baby, and sneaking the batteries out at night. She made sure she was the first one down in the morning to put them back in and leave Maddy and Rhydian none the wiser; but one morning, she overslept and was woken by a knock at the door. Rhydian stepped into the room, scratching the slight stubble on his chin, the muscles on his arms evident beneath his short sleeved pyjama t-shirt. Emma could see why Maddy picked him. If she was only thirty years younger…

"I just wanted to say thanks for the help with this robot baby over the last couple of weeks." Rhydian said. "I can see you're tired, but you've been a godsend. It's been quiet all night every night and all the while you've had it. It's even stayed silent a few times that Maddy and I have had it."

"I just hope you're as lucky with the real thing." Emma tried to feign nonchalance.

"No, I know we won't be." Rhydian said. "The real thing doesn't have a battery compartment. Where are they?" Rhydian held out his hand and Emma handed over the batteries with an ashamed expression on her face. "Emma, I get what you're trying to do, but you can't cheat at this. They'll plug this thing into a computer and it'll rattle off all the data about how well we've taken care of it."

"I'm sorry, Rhydian." Emma muttered. "I just thought that since Maddy was pregnant, the last thing she wanted was to be kept awake all night."

"Emma I offered to take the night shifts, but she's never letting me." Rhydian said. "I swore to myself that the moment I thought it was having an effect on her or the baby, I was going to step in. But since she's been able to sleep thanks to you, let's let her do the final week properly, shall we?" With that, Rhydian slotted the batteries back in and waited for the baby to start crying again. "By the way, Maddy and I are going to get paint for the nursery back home today. If I ask that you leave the batteries in this time, are you still okay to look after the fake one?" Rhydian asked.

"It'll be fine, Rhydian." Emma assured him. "If they ask, how are you going to explain why there's no data at certain points?"

"I'll just bend the clip for the battery compartment slightly and say they slipped out while I was changing it." Rhydian said.

"What do you actually learn from a fake baby anyway?" Emma asked.

"You can learn how to feed it for a start." Rhydian said. "It's just a basic guide though. Maddy sometimes goes into a separate room with all the other wives, girlfriends and single mums to learn about properly feeding it and other things that men don't have the anatomical capability to do, like the actual birth."

"That's just as well." Emma said, as she hauled herself out of bed. "Is Maddy up already?"

"Yeah, I've just sat her down in front of a massive plate of bacon." Rhydian told her.

"Go on downstairs then." Emma muttered sleepily as she wiped her eyes. "Don't leave that girl by herself."

Line Break!

Once Maddy and Rhydian had gone to get the paint, Emma and Dan set about breakfast. While Dan cooked, Emma made sure to give the cyber-baby enough attention to keep it happy. As she finished changing it, Dan called her to let her know the food was ready. Emma was wondering what to do with the baby just as her stomach growled louder than she did on a full moon.

"Come on you; sit down there in Grandad's chair." Emma said, as she laid the baby down on the seat. She went in to join Dan at the table.

"I think you're getting a bit attached to that baby." Dan muttered.

"It's surprisingly realistic for a robot." Emma told him. "It even moves its arms and legs like a real baby and everything. If Maddy hadn't told me it was a robot, I'd have been totally fooled. Actually, I was fooled at first. I was trying to remember the event of my own daughter giving birth and finding nothing. It's actually pretty freaky."

"I just hope Maddy and Rhydian are getting on okay with the paint." Dan said. I feel like I should jump in the car and go and help them."

"Daniel Smith, I know what happens when you're let loose in B&Q unsupervised. You'd come home with another new sander, a drill, some screws and a mop."

"Why would I have a mop?" Dan asked.

"So I could clean the blood up when I'm done with you after you tell me how much it cost." Emma told him. "Maddy and Rhydian are adults who are about to become parents. They can make decisions for themselves." As she said this, Dan gathered the finished plates up and took them over to the sink before turning back to her.

"I can get used to the idea of being a grandfather. What I struggle with is the fact that the damned robot is just like a real baby and it's like being a grandparent before the actual birth."

"I know what you mean." Emma said. "But you don't have to wait long now. She's about eight and a half months now, Dan. If anything, she's probably bored of it now. If she's anything like I was, she'll just want it to happen by yesterday so that she can get on with being a mother and a wife and get back to work, then when it's time to get back to work, she'll dread it because she's been off work for so long and she'll consider getting pregnant again just for the down time but decide not to because she's deterred by the pain of the actual birth. It won't matter too much though. There'll be plenty of other opportunities to get Rhydian playing waiter again." Dan just laughed, shook his head slightly and walked out of the room. Since Dan made the food, it was Emma who washed up that time. When she'd finished, she went to get one of Maddy's biscuits from the cupboard. Maddy wouldn't mind if she only took one. She was about to open the cupboard when the cry of a child distracted her. She went back into the living room, only to see a sight that was ominous, horrifying and hilarious all at once.

"What is it?" Dan asked when he spotted her looking at him.

"Look at what the hell you're sitting on!" Emma shrieked, pointing to Dan's chair. Dan looked where she was pointing and screamed. The cyber-baby's head stuck out from between his legs, dangling on the main connector spring in its neck that allowed it to move its head.

"You couldn't have done that better if you tried!" he muttered angrily.

Line Break

Maddy and Rhydian walked through the paint isle of B&Q, their eyes hurting from the entire spectrum of colours lined up in front of them.

"Why don't we just grab a can of blue and get out of here?" Rhydian asked. "This crappy lighting's killing my eyes."

"We can't paint a girl's room blue." Maddy said. "Most girls grow up to like pink and stuff, but that's boring. I want to do something unique for her."

"How the hell do you know it's a girl?" Rhydian asked.

"It's a maternal instinct. I've known all along." Maddy told him. "It tends to be common in expecting mothers."

"Your mum thought you were a boy." Rhydian pointed out.

"That was only for the first six months." Maddy answered. "After that, she realised I was a girl. I'm eight and a half months and I've known all along it's a girl."

"If we want to do something special, why not paint the room gold?" Rhydian suggested. "Gold is a special colour, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but I want to do something that says about life itself."

"Now you've lost me." Rhydian said. As Maddy opened her mouth to try to explain, a brainwave struck Rhydian. "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it then." Maddy said.

"I think it'll be easier to show you." Rhydian said, grabbing cans of grey, green, brown and blue paints. "We'll need to stop off by the carpet shop as well." Rhydian said as Maddy paid for the paint and Rhydian started pushing the trolley towards the car.

"Don't worry; I've known you long enough to trust your art skills and brainwaves." Maddy said.

"I want this to be a bit of a surprise for you as well." Rhydian said. "Dan's putting a cot together too." Maddy nodded and got into the car as Rhydian loaded it up. As he got into the car next to her, she rested her head against his shoulder. "You know I can't drive too well like this, don't you?"

"I love you, Rhydian." Maddy murmured as she nuzzled her head further into his shoulder.

"I love you too." Rhydian said, as he kissed the top of Maddy's head gently. "Now sit up straight, let's drop the paint at our house and get the carpet on the way, and then we can lie down and cuddle the night away if you want."

"I'd like that." Maddy said as Rhydian helped her upright. With that, they headed back home, unaware of the fact that their cyber-baby was suffering a severe migraine.

Line Break!

Emma and Maddy sat on the sofa that evening, with Maddy resting one hand on her stomach. To say that Maddy had been angry when she saw the state of the baby was an understatement, but Rhydian had taken her upstairs and lain with her for a couple of hours while she calmed down. He'd gone out now, and he'd taken one of Maddy's cameras as well, saying he needed to go onto the Moors to take some photos. Maddy was confused, but didn't question it.

"You're handling this all rather well." Emma said.

"I realise it was an accident." Maddy answered. "I know Dad would never sit on a real baby. Seeing as how I'm still here, that much is obvious."

"You're right, love. He'd never actually sit on a real child; not by accident, anyway." Maddy giggled and relaxed back slightly, moving awkwardly as she tried to get comfortable.

"Are you still feeling the cramps?" Emma asked. Maddy nodded.

"That wouldn't be it coming, would it?" she asked.

"I shouldn't have thought so." Emma answered. "You're eight and a half months now, right?"

"It's been somewhere around that sort of time." Maddy said.

"I doubt it's the start of labour then." Emma said. "I've heard of them coming early, but very rarely this early. I think you're fine for now." Maddy relaxed back at the news.

"It's hard to believe I'll soon have a child of my own to worry about." Maddy muttered.

"After the way you treated us, I hope they break your heart." Emma said, before bursting out laughing. "God Maddy, I know how you feel. We're all the same on our first, love. I mean, look at me when I had you. We didn't have cyber-babies in my day. We just got a cabbage or a sack of flour. Then I had you, the real thing." At this, Maddy crossed her arms as her eyes burned golden. Emma laughed even harder. Just then, Rhydian came back in, soaking wet but holding a dry camera.

"What the hell happened to you?" Maddy asked.

"I lost my step and fell off the rock by the stream." Rhydian told her. "What's everyone finding so funny?"

"It's just girl talk." Emma said.

"Yeah, that's all." Maddy muttered as he sat down and she cuddled up to him. Rhydian reached round and gently rested his hand on her cheek before leaning her further against him and rubbing her back in the way he knew she liked. Emma went into the kitchen so as not to disturb them as Maddy let out an appreciative growl.

"God, I love you, Maddy." Rhydian muttered as he rested his head on top of hers.

"I love you too, Rhydian." Maddy answered, as the gentle massage of his warm hand on her back slowly sent the pair of them to sleep. Emma came back in to find them like that. She smiled contentedly to herself before heading up to brush her teeth. If that was how they wanted to spend the night, she wasn't going to stop them.

Line Break!

It was a good week before Maddy's given due-date when she felt it. She didn't know what it actually was, but she just knew it wasn't anything like she'd felt so far. It was at that point that Tom showed up.

"How's it going, Mads?" he asked as she let him in, feeling unsteady on her feet.

"I'm pregnant, Tom. How do you think things are going?" Maddy snapped.

"Should I come back later?" Tom asked, a downcast look falling over his face.

"I'm sorry, Tom. It's not long until the birth and my hormones are all over the place." Maddy said, as Tom took her arm to guide her back to the chair.

"Do you want me to help you look for them?" Tom asked. Just then, Rhydian arrived through the door that Tom and Maddy never got round to closing.

"Hi Tom, when did you get here?" he asked, but stopped as he saw the state of Maddy. "Are you okay, Mads?"

"She's lost her harmonica or something." Tom said, earning a confused look from Rhydian.

"I think the baby's coming." Maddy blurted.

"Oh crap, what the hell do we do?" Tom shrieked as Maddy clutched her stomach and groaned in agony

"Just remember your classes." Rhydian said. "Breathe in slowly, and then out." Rhydian led Maddy through it and she copied shakily. "How are you doing?" Rhydian asked.

"I'm getting quite dizzy." Tom answered, his eyes glazing over slightly.

"You're not the one who's supposed to be doing the breathing exercises!" Rhydian screamed at him. Maddy let out another scream of her own and that was it. Tom's eyes rolled up inside his skull as he flopped backwards and lay motionless.

"Since his mum's a doctor, I thought he'd have a stronger stomach." Maddy muttered.

"Just lie on the sofa and get your feet up." Rhydian ordered, before grabbing a bottle of chilli sauce, opening Tom's mouth and generously dashing some of the sauce onto Tom's tongue. Tom jumped up with a start and Rhydian slapped his face to bring him around properly. "Tom, we really need you to get help." Rhydian said to him.

"Where should I go?" Tom asked, still disoriented both by fainting and the burning on his tongue.

"Emma took all the girls down the bar so she could introduce my mum to tequila slammers." Rhydian told him. "We need them all back here now."

"What will you be doing?" Tom asked.

"I'll ring Dacia and keep Maddy sane." Rhydian said. "Now get a move on. Things are going to happen really fast, so we have to move at the same pace." Tom nodded and raced out through the front door at full speed.

Line Break!

Tom raced into the pub and immediately spotted Emma in the crowd. She was cheering Ceri on in an arm wrestle against the bartender. Suddenly, Ceri pinned her opponent's arm to the table and jumped up.

"Free drinks for everyone!" Emma shouted to the rest of the audience.

"Emma, you have to come home!" Tom said, shaking her shoulder.

"Tom, I'm having a good time; sod off." Emma snapped.

"No Emma, you have to come home now!" Tom insisted.

"Tom, I don't remember marrying you; now get lost."

"But it's coming and you have to help with it!" Tom was more relentless now than he'd ever been in his life.

"What the hell's coming?" Emma asked, her voice losing its hard edge.

"Maddy's giving birth!" Tom yelled loudly enough to make everyone in the bar turn to face him. Emma's drunken brain took a second to process this before it finally clicked. Suddenly, she turned to Shannon, Mrs Vaughn, Ceri and Jana.

"Girls, it's Maddy's time. We need to get back to the house." Tom and the girls all trooped out through the door towards the car.

"You're too drunk to drive." Tom said, just before Emma thrust the keys in his face. They all piled into the car as Tom updated them.

"Rhydian's ringing Dacia and getting her to send someone from Segolia." Tom said. "Maddy's lying on the sofa with her feet up and doing the breathing thing." The weight of the situation was helping to sober Emma up, and her thoughts were becoming clearer.

"It sounds to me like we'd better get things started when we get back!" she muttered sharply.

Line Break!

Emma and the girls made it through the door just as Maddy let out another scream. Shannon was still nowhere near sober enough to walk, so Tom had to carry her on his back. Rhydian's relieved expression said it all.

"Tom, make sure Shannon's okay. Rhydian, get your arse in gear and find me some hot water. Ceri, I need as many towels as you can get. Rip the bathroom towel rail off the door if you have to. Everybody else, get into the kitchen!" Emma ordered, flying into action." Just then, red and blue lights burst through the window between the slats of the Venetian blinds as sleek black private Segolia ambulances pulled up. Paramedics rushed in to tend to Maddy as Rhydian returned with the hot water.

"Can we borrow that bowl of water?" the medic asked.

"You can have the damn bowl for all I care." Emma slurred. "Rhydian, go with your wife to the hospital. We'll wait here for news of how things are going." Rhydian nodded and followed the medics out with Maddy on the gurney. As they departed and the atmosphere died, there was a horrendous crash from upstairs, followed by Ceri falling down the stairs in a bundle of towels with a metal rail sticking out from the top of the bundle.

"What did I miss?" she asked.

Line Break!

It was a tense couple of hours before the phone finally rang in the Smith household. Emma was over there in a flash and grabbed the phone off its stand.

"Rhydian's on the phone!" she called out to everyone. There was a pause as she listened for news. "It was born nearly half an hour ago! It's a boy!" she cried. Everyone cheered as Emma pressed the phone back to her ear. "I'm still here, Rhydian; don't worry. Wait, what do you mean..? How was that not picked up on the scans?" Tears pricked the corners of Emma's eyes as she turned to Mrs Vaughn. "Leona, bring me a chair. I need to sit down." Mrs Vaughn rushed the chair over and Emma shakily sat herself down into it as the tears started flowing freely. In seconds she was a sobbing mess.

"Emma, what the hell's wrong?" Jana asked.

Emma's voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. "They're expecting the girl any minute now." Everyone recoiled as they took a second to absorb this news. Suddenly, cheers erupted from everyone. Dan had arrived shortly after the medics had left and upon hearing the news he reached under the counter and produced two bottles of wine.

"Drink up guys. I'm touching none of it!" he announced.

"Why are you not having any?" Emma asked.

"The last thing I need tomorrow is a hangover." Dan told her. "By the sound of it, I've got a second cot to build."

Epilogue

Emma and the family sat around the table, admiring the photos of Maddy and Rhydian at the hospital holding the babies.

"I still find it hard to believe that I'm a grandma to twins!" Emma said ecstatically. "The girl's the image of me as well."

"They all look like E.T when they're first born." Dan said. "It'll sort itself out over the next few days." The glare Emma gave him could have melted the snow off the top of Everest.

"What did they call them in the end?" Emma's sister asked.

"They called them Connor and Kira." Emma said. I'm still rather excited though. Rhydian finally finished up on the nursery and Maddy promised to text photos as soon as he picks her up from the hospital."

"Was Rhydian the one who drew those pictures you showed me from back when he was fifteen?"

"Yeah, he's gone on to design advert banners. It's a really well paying job since he's managed a contract with a big company." Emma said. Just then, her phone went off. She looked down to see that Maddy had texted her about seventeen photos.

Meanwhile

Maddy carried the babies in their basket as Rhydian led her to the nursery with his hands over her eyes. He opened the door and took his hands away to let her drink in the sight of it. Maddy was instantly taken back to the spot on the moors the first time she'd properly talked to him and the time she convinced him to stay. He'd perfectly captured how the rays of sunlight burst through the trees, and even how the wet edges of the leaves glowed like rainbows from the angle of light. It seemed to make the whole tree glow in a rainbow of colours. Pinned to the wall was a framed photo. Rhydian had taken the photo and then painted the nursery to match. On every wall, there was a framed picture. The scenes on the walls were all copies of the photos. Rhydian had basically recreated the most beautiful spot on the moors in the nursery. The grey carpet also depicted the rocky edge that they stood on, with a layer of blue carpet cut into it to make the stream that flowed down the middle. Maddy sat Connor and Kira down into the cots that Dan had made, and then threw her arms around Rhydian, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug.

"I love it, Rhydian. It's marvellous." The warm smile on Maddy's face made him feel complete in the best of ways. Rhydian didn't think he'd ever seen his wife this happy before. But she had every right to be. They had their children, their house and each other. They truly had found their paradise.


End file.
